Sports Minister Launches Youth Cup to Build National Teams
Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul has launched the Prime Minister's Youth Cup, a five-year program targeting U14 to U18 athletes to build a pipeline for national teams. The initiative focuses on grassroots scouting, sustainable competition structures, and youth character development through sports, with the goal of reforming Thailand's youth sports system nationwide.
Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul is driving regional sports development for fiscal year 2027, pushing the Prime Minister's Youth Cup to mold rising stars aged U14-U18 into national team players with a continuous five-year development plan.
On October 21, 2026 at 9:00 AM, Mr. Surasak Phancharoenworakul, Minister of Tourism and Sports, presided over the opening of a meeting to drive the regional sports development project for fiscal year 2027. Attendees included Mr. Passakorn Rangsiwatsak, Deputy Minister and Ministry Spokesperson, executives from the Sports Authority of Thailand, provincial sports committee presidents, provincial sports association representatives, National Sports Development Fund representatives, and related agencies at the Grand Four Wings Convention Hotel in Bangkok.
Mr. Surasak stated that the government attaches importance to using sports as a mechanism for human resource development, strengthening social resilience, and enhancing people's quality of life. The aim is to develop sports from the grassroots level to discover and promote potential athletes to achieve excellence at both national and international levels. He emphasized three key approaches for driving regional sports: upgrading sports management and personnel development systems; administering the National Sports Development Fund budget transparently and cost-effectively; and pushing football and volleyball competitions to create equal opportunities for children and youth nationwide to access competitions.
In addition, the meeting announced targets for the Prime Minister's Youth Cup project to reform the Thai youth sports system through three main strategies: 1. Creating a pathway to the national team (Talent Pipeline): Scouting rising star athletes from district and provincial levels in U14, U16, and U18 age groups to develop them into professional athletes and Thai national team members. 2. Sustainable sports development (Sustainability): Pushing a continuous five-year competition management plan to be proposed to the Cabinet for consideration, creating a continuous youth development system and allowing schools, clubs, and coaches to plan long-term athlete development. 3. Creating quality youth (Human Development): Using sports as a tool to instill discipline, leadership, teamwork, and respect for rules to develop youth to grow with quality in both body and mind.
Mr. Surasak emphasized the importance of integrating cooperation among sports agencies at all levels to ensure the two-day meeting leads to concrete implementation, creating opportunities for Thai youth from all areas to demonstrate their potential, while laying a strong and sustainable foundation for the Thai sports system in the future.
